POS1564-PARE EDUCATION TOPICS AND SMARTPHONE APP FUNCTIONS PRIORITIZED BY PEOPLE WITH RHEUMATIC AND MUSCULOSKELETAL DISEASES
Authors: W. B. Nowell, K. Gavigan, K. Garza, A. Ogdie, M. George, J. A. Walsh, M. Danila, S. Venkatachalam, L. Stradford, J. Curtis
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2022)

Background Generating information that people living with a rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease (RMD) find useful while making decisions about their treatment requires identifying and understanding educational needs and interests directly expressed from people living with RMD. Objectives To identify what types of information US adults with RMD perceive as important to know about their disease and how they express and prioritize such information. Methods Using nominal group technique, focus groups of participants (pts) with RMD generated sets of rank-order educational items which were then aggregated across groups into themes. Based on nominal group results, a survey with the final 28 items was administered online, along with a question about desired functions of a smartphone app for RMD, to members of the ArthritisPower registry in January 2022. Results Six nominal groups (n=47) yielded 28 unique items for the online survey of educational priorities. To date, a total of 570 pts completed the survey, of whom 85.4% were female, 89.5% white, mean age of 59.6 (SD 11.2) years. Rheumatoid arthritis (52.5%), osteoarthritis (16.0%), psoriatic arthritis (12.5%), and axial spondyloarthritis (7.5%) were the most common RMDs. Knowing how to tell when a medication is not working, how RMD affects other medical conditions, understanding the results of tests used to monitor their RMD, available treatment options and possible side effects, and how life will change as an RMD progresses were each items that &gt; 75% of pts considered extremely important (Table 1). Top functions pts listed as useful for a smartphone app included being able to participate in research, view lab results, record symptoms or flares, share how they are doing with their provider, and get educational information about their disease (Table 2). Table 1. Top Education Topics Adults with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Disease Consider Extremely Important (N=570). Item n (% ) Knowing when the medication is not working 505 (88.6) Knowing how a rheumatologic condition can affect your other health conditions or medical issues 481 (84.4) Understanding the results of tests used to monitor your condition 471 (82.6) Knowing the side effects of available drugs, and how the drugs interact with each other 461 (80.9) Finding the right rheumatologist 453 (79.5) Having realistic expectations of the effectiveness of the medications 445 (78.1) Knowing how the disease will progress, even if the news is bad 439 (77.0) Knowing the available medications and treatments for your rheumatologic condition 437 (76.7) Knowing how long it takes drugs to work 436 (76.5) Understanding how your life will change as your disease progresses 434 (76.1) Table 2. Desired Smartphone App Functions Rated By Adults with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Disease (N=570). App Function n (% ) Participate in patient-centered research 299 (52.5) View my lab results 283 (49.7) Record my symptoms (e.g. pain, fatigue) or disease flares to track my health over time 278 (48.8) Record my symptoms and share how I am doing with my rheumatology provider to know if I am meeting my treatment goals 230 (40.4) Get educational information about my disease 225 (39.5) Keep track of the medications prescribed by doctor 200 (35.1) Schedule and keep track of my medical appointments, rheumatology and other 199 (34.9) Track the vaccines I get (i.e. vaccination record) 188 (33.0) Help me improve some of my health habits (e.g. sleep, diet, exercise) 187 (32.8) Keep track of my use of over-the-counter, complementary or alternative therapies (herbs, tinctures, acupuncture, massage, stretching, etc.) 174 (30.5) Get support for my disease from trained patients with my same health condition (i.e. ‘peer coaching’) 144 (25.3) Conclusion People with RMD prioritized information about medications and prognosis in educational materials, providing guidance for the development of educational tools. A sizeable minority felt educational materials were an important component of a smartphone app, but also identified other important features such as participation in research. Disclosure of Interests W. Benjamin Nowell Grant/research support from: Research support from AbbVie, Amgen, Eli Lilly and Scipher, Kelly Gavigan: None declared, Kimberly Garza: None declared, Alexis Ogdie: None declared, Michael George: None declared, Jessica A. Walsh Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Eli Lilly and Company, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Merck, and Pfizer, Maria Danila: None declared, Shilpa Venkatachalam: None declared, Laura Stradford: None declared, Jeffrey Curtis Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, BMS, Corrona, Eli Lilly and Company, Gilead, Janssen, Myriad, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron, Roche, and UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Amgen, BMS, Corrona, Eli Lilly and Company, Janssen, Myriad, Pfizer, Regeneron, Roche, and UCB